About Us - Bob The Snapping Turtle

Submitted by ewerner on Tue, 11/24/2009 - 09:29

MEET BOB THE SNAPPING TURTLE

Become one of Bob's Friends on

Bob, a snapping turtle from the Museum’s live animal collection -- and a frequent guest at Museum School -- had been missing since September 2007. As staff prepared to move out of the 53-year-old Museum building to make way for construction of a new facility, they searched high and low for Bob. But Bob, who had been living with other turtles in a pond within the Museum's central courtyard, had vanished. For months, we wondered where Bob could have gone.

Then, suddenly – miraculously – he was back! On until April 2, 2008. Bob was spotted crossing the Museum's construction zone and rescued by a construction worker. Though his shell was cracked, a veterinarian’s check-up confirmed that he was otherwise healthy. Bob had simply hibernated, burying himself deep in the pond’s mud.

His health – and his discovery alone – was amazing considering that the area where Bob was found has been an intense construction zone since fall. Massive vehicles had crisscrossed the site and the entire area had been excavated, and then backfilled, to prepare the soil for the Museum's foundation. That means it’s likely Bob was moved to a huge pile of dirt, and then moved back to the site before he crawled to the surface.

Today, the healthy snapping turtle is enjoying his new-found celebrity, is again visiting Museum School classes, and is making special appearances at the Museum as his busy schedule allows.